


Time Bomb

by Virtual Revolutions (maidendays)



Series: Hacking His Heart [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Datastormshipping, Dom/sub Undertones, M/M, MMORPG Logic, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, RevoYu, Revsaku, Smut, Torture, sort of canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-13 22:48:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14122497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maidendays/pseuds/Virtual%20Revolutions
Summary: Yusaku swore he wouldn't fall for REVOLVER's charms again. He's having less success than he'd like.This is a direct follow-up to "Exploits" and "Rootkit". Please read those previous two stories if you have not already.





	Time Bomb

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm still following canon (mostly). This fic covers events featured in episodes 16 through 32.
> 
> Please note that there is some brief psychological horror, torture, and dub-con. REVOLVER is not in an _ideal_ state of mind, and I do not condone his actions.

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Fujiki Yusaku would never describe himself as one to hide from his enemies. He's not hiding from _that person_. That is definitely not what he's doing. And if that's not what he's doing then he's _certainly not_ actively _avoiding_ the person who keeps sending him anonymous messages on the remote-access LINK VRAINS chat system. And if he's not avoiding that person, then he's absolutely not fearing the appearance of new chat windows popping up every time he closes the last one.

18:43:06 user_unknown:  
Are you thinking of me, Anon-san? I bet you are.

"Shut up," mumbles Yusaku, taking a sip of his soda, and closing the chat window for the _twentieth_ time.

19:05:36 user_unknown:  
Don't tell me…? You're avoiding me?

"Then I won't," whispers Yusaku angrily, closing it _again_.

19:23:01 user_unknown:  
Are you coming back any time soon?  
I want to play some more. Don't you miss me?

Yusaku grits his teeth in irritation. Why won't _that person_ take the hint? Yusaku doesn't want to talk to _him_ ; he's still reeling from the shock of how their last encounter ended.

19:25:37 PLAYMAKER:  
You have no business talking to me anymore. 

19:25:44 user_unknown:  
Ho~ He lives~  
Won't you come back?  
Don't you want my hard cock?

Yusaku nearly chokes on his soda, coughing violently, feeling the burn in his sinuses.

"Hey! Yusaku! Are you OK?" shouts Kusanagi from inside Cafe Nagi.

"Fine!" Yusaku calls back, continuing to cough for several more moments. 

19:26:17 PLAYMAKER:  
Don't contact me again.

19:26:23 user_unknown:  
Playing hard-to-get, are we?

19:26:27 PLAYMAKER:  
Go fuck yourself.

Immediately after sending that final message, Yusaku blocks _that person's_ access code, wondering why he didn't think to do that sooner.

"Oi! Yusaku-chan!" coos Ai from across the table where Yusaku's duel disk is currently resting. "What's got you so worked up? Is it a boy? It's a boy, isn't it?"

"Oh~ Could it be… _him_ ," conspires Kusanagi, leaning on the counter and peering out of the service window.

Yusaku freezes, wondering if they _know_ , but then he recalls that handsome customer who has been frequenting Cafe Nagi recently. Yusaku will never admit aloud that he has stolen a glance or two at that man… okay maybe it was more than two… or three… or five.... Beautiful people _should_ _be admired_ , right?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kusanagi-san," says Yusaku, in a rushed manner that he knows sounds suspicious.

"It's definitely a boy," adds Kusanagi with a teasing grin.

"You're both insufferable…" Yusaku leans his cheek on his palm and looks away, attempting to make himself look busy on his tablet.

As he leans further out, the setting sun hits Kusanagi's face and he blocks out the light with his hand. "He's using big words. That's how you know he's embarrassed," Kusanagi teases.

"Please stop…" Yusaku says with a sigh, turning away and finishing his soda.

Ai and Kusanagi chuckle to each other.

Yusaku shakes his head as he packs up his tablet and his duel disk, heading towards the van so Kusanagi can drive him home; he's glad they don't know it's not just the stranger from Stardust Road who haunts his thoughts.

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When he's not with Kusanagi, Yusaku spends his evenings at home in the special room he has designated just for computer use. He always locks the door when he's in this room, perhaps that's mostly his paranoia taking unnecessary precautions, but since he doesn't fully trust Ai and would rather keep the IGNIS and his duel disk in his home rather than left alone with Kusanagi, locking the door to keep Ai _away_ from him just feels right.

Tonight Yusaku is searching through a collection of cloned SOL Technologies hard drives he and Kusanagi hacked into last week as part of their ongoing mission to find whatever they can on the Incident. After all the attacks on LINK VRAINS, Yusaku would have expected that SOL Tech and other companies like it would have encrypted their data, and yet the auto-write program Kusanagi runs continuously on the computer terminal at Cafe Nagi continues to easily crack and clone whole drives.

He ejects a virtual drive and connects the next one, running his initial scans on it to make sure it isn't hiding malware. A few moments later when his bootlegged military-grade anti-virus scanner comes up clean, Yusaku rapidly rummages through this drive to find its secrets. Amongst the folders containing department meeting minutes, buried under twelve levels of innocently labeled sub-folders Yusaku finds…. 

"Porn huh? What kinds of kinks are you hiding in here?" mutters Yusaku, scrolling down through the massive folder and its hundreds of video files. Yusaku expects to find HD rips of former idols turned to AV, but his eyes blow wide when he realizes that this is an archive of…

"Takada-san, does your wife know you watch _balls_deep_in_daisuke.mkv_ and _young_takeshi_gangbanged.mp4_?"

He probably _–_ no, _definitely–_ shouldn't open any of this, and yet before he even fully processes what he's doing, he has already double-clicked on a file titled _daddy_makes_love_to_hikaru.mp4_.

The cries of a boy around Yusaku's age fill the room and, panicked, Yusaku slams down on the mute key on his keyboard. Looking over his shoulder at the door, Yusaku feels exceedingly stupid to see that _of course_ it's still locked and that no one is bursting in here wondering why he's watching gay porn at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Rather than shutting off the video, _as he absolutely should_ , Yusaku manually lowers the volume on the video player before he unmutes his computer. The boy's cries are barely a whisper now, so Yusaku taps the volume up key a few times to raise the audio just enough to be clearly heard.

_"-aaaaaaaaaan… hahhhhnnnaaa..."_

_"So cute. Yeah. Take in all of my dick. Fuck yeah. That's a good boy."_

The video is uncensored, meaning it's most certainly illegal; Yusaku isn't sure if the boy is even of age. The man above him is much older, possibly in his forties or fifties, and he's languishly thrusting into the boy and grunting with exertion.

_"Aaaaaaa"_

_"Good boy. What a good boy. Do you like that?"_

_"Feels good…. you're so big oh my god…. nnnnnnghhaaaaaaaaaa"_

_"You're squeezing my dick so tight. I'm going to come!"_

_"In my ass. Please come in my ass."_

_"You want it inside of you?_

_"Yes, pleasecomeinme…aaaahhh!"_

_"Haa.. haa… good boy… I came a lot. Your tight little body made me come so much."_

At some point during watching the video, Yusaku had slipped his pajama pants down and had begun to stroke himself. Slightly embarrassed but past the point of caring, he ignores the heat rising to his cheeks; there's no one here to watch him, no one to judge him, this is his personal time.

But now he _definitely_ has a reason to bar Ai from this room…

_"Get on. Ride me from behind, sweet boy."_

_"Fill me with your big curved dick. Make me feel good. Ahhh!"_

_"Such a good boy. You're the best."_

This should be arousing, but Yusaku is only half hard. He frowns with displeasure; this isn't doing it for him. In the past something like this would have been enough to easily get him off, but now… 

_"Aaaaaaaaaa yes like that…. it's so deep…."_

_"So deep yeah…"_

_"I'm riding you… so good so good… aaaaaahhhh"_

This is too...

_"Sweet boy, perfect boy. Let me love you."_

...vanilla.

He wants something _harder_.

He stops the video, and stills his hand. He thinks that he should feel shame that he's continuing to browse through this pervert's collection, but, unfortunately, his only thought is to reach release.

"Dirty old man…" mutters Yusaku, as he scrolls down the folder and reads off the file names. " _cute_gapping_hole.avi_ , _anal_creampie_compilation.flv_ , _18yo_hole_defiled.mkv_ , _twin_twinks_milked.avi_ , _barely_legal_boy_punished.mp4_ …."

Something about that last one perks Yusaku's interest. He double-clicks the file.

_"Bend over and take my hard meat like the whore you are."_

"Oh.." mouths Yusaku silently, making the video fullscreen. He sits back in his oversized gaming chair and watches, rhythmically pumping his cock, raising it to full attention. He jumps a bit when the boy is whipped across the backs of his thighs; the crack of the whip rings deliciously in Yusaku's ears.

_"What a lewd ass. Makes me want to carve my ownership into your flesh. You deserve this, don't you?"_

"No," Yusaku mouths at the same time as the boy groans; his breath is becoming shallow. He's definitely aroused now, his cock is pulsing in his hand.

_"I want to breed you. Fill your boy-pussy with my seed. What a little slut."_

"I'd like to see you try, asshole," Yusaku groans, quickening his pumps into feverish tugs.

_"It's becoming so red. It's going to bruise. You're getting exactly what you deserve, aren't you?"_

"Say that one more time... scum… aaaaaahh..."

_"Scream for me, boy! Scream for me and I might decide to give you a reward."_

The boy and Yusaku both shriek, the boy with pain, Yusaku with furious arousal. "Go fuck yourself, Hanoi… nnnnnnngggggggggh… shit." 

Reaching climax alarmingly quick, his thoughts filled with the dual memories of REVOLVER's smug grin taunting him and his mocking whispering of _only good boys get rewards_ , Yusaku's hand splatters with cum as he realizes with angry frustration that he _might have a problem_.

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In the weeks following his _encounter_ with REVOLVER in The Tower of Heaven, Yusaku finds his focus again. He has a mission, a purpose, and, most importantly, someone important to avenge: himself.

REVOLVER's hint about SOL Technologies seems too conveniently given, too easy, not to mention that hacking directly into the city's largest databank sounds both foolish and dangerous. However, after wasting over a week looking for an alternative way to obtain that information, Yusaku has to, reluctantly, admit that they've run out of other options.

"You want to hack into SOL Tech's mainframe?" Kusanagi parrots back to him, scratching the patch of facial hair on his chin with apprehension.

"It's not that I _want to_ , but we haven't come up with a better plan and this seems to be the only option left."

"This isn't the same as accessing poorly encrypted hard drives of ignorant employees. This is a direct attack on what I fully expect to be an extremely well guarded databank which will undoubtedly be surrounded by honeypots. If we're caught…"

"There won't be a 'we'. I'm going to go in there alone, and you're going to guide me remotely, Kusanagi-san."

"As PLAYMAKER?"

Yusaku nods, firm. "I wouldn't take such a huge risk if I didn't feel confident that you'd be right here to make sure I'd be able to safely navigate through the mainframe."

"Well of course I will be," affirms Kusanagi, although he's not smiling. "I'll watch your back."

Yusaku nods, taking a sip of coffee from Kusanagi's ironic _SOL Technologies_ mug and pointing to a spot on the server map schematics. "There. That's where the data will be. I'm sure of it."

"Or that's where it _appears_ to be. If these are honeypots then _–_ " 

"Even if they are, if we use your cloaking script then I'll be able to navigate through the mainframe and check them all without SOL ever knowing I'm there."

"Yes but don't underestimate SOL, Yusaku. We can't afford a single mistake. If at any point you feel uncertain of your ability to complete the mission, or if in the worst case scenario you become compromised, I want you to log out _immediately_."

"I understand."

"This may be the most dangerous place in the entire network. Tread carefully, Yusaku."

As Yusaku audibly reaffirms his understanding, he thinks to himself, _**There are far more dangerous places in the network, Kusanagi-san. If you knew where I've been and the unsavory company I keep, you'd never let me out of your sight.**_

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It is, of course, Yusaku's worse luck that Zaizen Akira is here in the mainframe standing between him and the answers he seeks. The security AIs... those he could handle easily even without BLUE ANGEL's help, although he's grateful that she took one of the AIs off his plate, but the iron will of a man like Zaizen? _That's_ a challenge.

"Out of my way!" demands PLAYMAKER, trying to keep the snarl out of his voice; there's a proper place and _person_ for that snarl; Zaizen is missing a pair of opaque eyes and glinting earrings. "I will not be stopped! Move!"

"Go home, PLAYMAKER," says Zaizen, his brows knitting together and his stance guarded. "Nothing in this databank will satisfy whatever misguided revenge you feel the need to take against my employer."

"Move!" PLAYMAKER repeats, marching forward, only to be stopped by some force he cannot see. "You think that because I was saved from death back then that I would just be able to move on? Ridiculous! I have a right to know what's in that databank! I have a right to know what the incident from 10 year ago's mission was! I have a right to know the identity of the people who ruined my life!"

"The incident from… so you're one of the six children from that time… then you and Aoi are close in age. PLAYMAKER, please understand… It's not too late to turn back."

"You stand between me and the end of this neverending pain. Move, Zaizen-san. I will not say it again."

"PLAYMAKER, you are but a child. You should not have to carry on your soul the burdens of adults. Go home and live your life. You were saved back then. You were given a second chance. Please don't squander it."

"What life? The life that I had, that life stopped 10 years ago! There are three reasons why I must know what's in that databank. Starting with, One, that incident tore apart my life. I must learn the truth behind it and reconnect the fragments of the person I once was."

"You'll be better off not knowing, PLAYMAKER! Please! Leave here. You can still move forward."

"Two," continues PLAYMAKER, as if he hasn't heard Zaizen at all. "That incident deeply hurt us and our families. Some of those affected still haven't recovered. I've vowed to learn the truth for them."

"This is madness, PLAYMAKER. You are a child! You are not a soldier!"

"Three," PLAYMAKER goes on, "During those hellish days, at that time when my heart was close to breaking, there was someone who kept encouraging me, someone who assured me that I would be able to go home, someone who told me not to give up, someone who convinced me that by keeping a strong mind I could find a way to continue living... they saved me…. but that person wasn't among the rescuees. If they are still captured, then I must rescue them! For me, the incident ten years ago has yet to end!"

"Please think of your future, PLAYMAKER! Don't throw your life away for revenge."

"I already told you, didn't I? I have no life to live. I have no future to talk about with my friends. I have no irreplaceable moments to cherish."

"Are we not friends, PLAYMAKER?" chimes in Ai. PLAYMAKER ignores it.

Zaizen sways a bit, silent.

PLAYMAKER glances to the side, staring off into nothingness. "After the incident... To heal the wounds in my heart, I received treatment for years. I tried _so very hard_ to forget..."

Zaizen can only shake his head in despair.

** You've been fighting for so long, Yusaku. **

"But no matter how much time passed... I couldn't forget." PLAYMAKER raises his hand to his face and stares at it as if it's a foreign object he does not know. He clenches his hand into a fist, holding it against the place where his heart would be if this avatar body were real. "Those horrible memories were burned into my mind, feasting on my heart. They became my flesh and blood.. I couldn't hope to dig them out." PLAYMAKER drops his hand to his side. "When I realized that, I decided to finally face those memories and seize this unwanted fate with my own hands."

** It will all be over soon. **

"PLAYMAKER…" Zaizen seems to be at a loss for words.

** Soon you will be able to rest. **

"If you think revenge is useless, you're entitled to your opinion. However, accessing that databank is part of the actions I must take to begin to move forward with my life." PLAYMAKER relaxes his expression momentarily. "Through my own investigation of the incident, I found out that the Lost Incident had another name... the Hanoi Project. That's why I've been hunting the Knights of Hanoi, and why I must find out what SOL Technologies knows."

** You can't give up yet. **

A level-headed mask slips onto Zaizen's face. "It seems that's the extent of your knowledge. I'll be truthful with you, PLAYMAKER... The name of the Hanoi Project's mastermind is in this databank."

** You must keep fighting until the very end. **

"What?!!" PLAYMAKER is overcome by a cold chill that washes over Yusaku's mind like a tsunami racing towards land. His expression contorts into a waking nightmare, and in his eyes burns the flame of vengeance. " _Who is it_?"

** So don't forget to... **

Zaizen, BLUE ANGEL and GHOST GIRL all give PLAYMAKER grave looks. They are normal people, not broken shells of formerly whole human beings like him. They will never understand.

** Think of three things. **

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Despite Zaizen's best effort, PLAYMAKER wins the duel. PLAYMAKER collects his spoils, ordering Ai to retrieve as much of the data as it can. But by the time he logs out of LINK VRAINS moments later, he's so exhausted that he nearly passes out in the access chamber.

Stumbling to Kusanagi, outstretching his duel disk arm, Yusaku announces with pained triumph, "I got it."

While Yusaku drinks from the water bottle Kusanagi offers to him, Kusanagi downloads the databank from Yusaku's duel disk, throwing it up onto the screen.

Yusaku leans all his weight on the back of Kusanagi's chair. Their closeness is comforting in a way that Yusaku will never be able to put into words.

Kusanagi searches through the data with all the grace of a bulldozer, tearing open sealed archives and scattering folders all over the desktop. "Dr. Kogami," he states, sounding almost robotic. "He executed the Hanoi Project."

Yusaku breathes out heavily, feeling like another weight has been dropped on his already tortured soul. "He's the Hanoi Project's mastermind?"

Kusanagi nods, taking a drawn out sip of coffee from his ironic mug. "It says he was a researcher at SOL Technologies."

Ai chimes in, "You don't seem surprised."

Honestly Yusaku momentarily forgot Ai was there. Yusaku nods, emotionless. "I expected this. That's why SOL Technologies had this info."

Kusanagi takes another sip. "It says Dr. Kogami caused the incident alone. But SOL Technologies found out after a whistleblower tipped them off."

Yusaku nods again, slowly putting together the pieces of this puzzle. "So SOL Technologies covered it up, fearing what would happen if it was exposed."

Kusanagi sighs. "The staff from back then are now all retired."

Yusaku leans harder on the chair. It creaks. "What was the incident's mission?"

Kusanagi shakes his head. "It's not written here." But then he suddenly goes rigid. "What the hell?!!"

Upon seeing what Kusanagi has pulled up on the screen, Yusaku's stomach drops and he feels a fresh wave of nausea taking over him. "No! It can't be!"

"What?" chimes Ai unhelpfully, his voice sounding distant.

Yusaku's hope shatters once again. The revelation in the databank is enough to make Yusaku's shoulders shake.

'Defeated' doesn't begin to do the tone of Kusanagi's voice justice. "Seven years ago, Dr. Kogami.. died."

The culprit is dead!

What the hell are they supposed to do now?!

What the hell is _he_ supposed to do now?! They were _so fucking close_ to bringing these last 10 years of torture to a close. But now...

Not even exhaustion can stop Yusaku from banging his fist into the computer terminal and sinking to his knees in despair.

"Damn it!"

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It's with the utmost reluctance that PLAYMAKER finds himself back in The Tower of Heaven. The _Hack Worm_ exploit still works _–_ why REVOLVER didn't revoke his access to that is a mystery _–_ and he warps right in middle of the main area of a jazz lounge. The atmosphere is quiet, calming if Yusaku is honest, and the decor is a lot less gaudy than past incarnations of this den of sleaze.

"Who is Dr. Kogami?" PLAYMAKER demands to know, standing over REVOLVER who grins up at him.

"You've returned?" says REVOLVER with unmasked glee. "Well hello to you too, PLAYMAKER. I was beginning to think I'd never see you in here again." 

"Don't dodge the question!" hisses PLAYMAKER, trying to make himself look tall and intimidating over REVOLVER's seated form.

"What was the question again?" REVOLVER says, his grin widening. "You must forgive me... After not seeing you for so long I can't help but be captivated by your beauty all over again. It's been weeks since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"

"The question," PLAYMAKER snarls through gritted teeth.

"Dr. Kogami?" REVOLVER finally responds, infuriatingly playful. "What makes you think I know who that is?"

"You led me to SOL Technologies, and SOL Technologies led me to Dr. Kogami. Therefore you must know _something_."

Had this been one of their previous encounters, REVOLVER would be swirling a glass of alcohol and precariously balancing it on his thigh. But now, his grin disappearing and his face taking on a neutral expression, he takes a long drag on a cigarette, his arm swaying slightly on the arm of the chair, and exhales a ring of smoke into the air.

"That, Anon-san," replies REVOLVER without feeling, "isn't the right question to be asking."

"I am not in the mood for your games, REVOLVER. Just answer the damn question."

"Oh how boring. What happened to the relaxed and agreeable person who would gladly banter with me about Duel Monsters? That person was far more interesting than whatever _–_ " REVOLVER waves the cigarette in PLAYMAKER's face, " _–this_ is."

PLAYMAKER slaps REVOLVER's hand, sending the cigarette flying into the air where it instantly dematerializes. "So you'd prefer me stuck in a perpetual state between resisting the urge to curse you out every moment and the desire to continuously punch your face in?" 

"Well… no," says REVOLVER with a mirthless chuckle. "But at least _that_ PLAYMAKER was _fun_."

PLAYMAKER can't keep the disgust out of his voice. "This truly is one big game to you, isn't it?"

"If it's a game, then you would have no choice but to play, isn't that true?"

PLAYMAKER pulls a face and rolls his eyes, taking the armchair next to REVOLVER. "Fine then, let's do it your way. What _is_ the question I should be asking?"

Another cigarette materializes between REVOLVER's gloved fingers. "No no, Anon-san, what fun would it be if I just gave away the answer like that? Me, just giving you what you want? Can you even imagine?"

"You and I have very different definitions of _fun_ ," snarls PLAYMAKER, displeased.

REVOLVER hums, smiling like a fox who has just ensnared a rooster in its jaws.

Yusaku feels foolish for even considering that REVOLVER's helpful tip about the databank might have been a sign of good will; this person clearly never had any true intentions of helping him.

REVOLVER drags on the cigarette, breathing out another ring, looking quite pleased with himself.

PLAYMAKER sighs, batting the smoke away from his face. "What will it take for you to cooperate?"

"Well... a handjob from those slender fingers of yours certainly wouldn't be a bad start..."

PLAYMAKER scoffs. "Is that all? As if I'd be stupid enough to fall for that trick _again_."

"Trick? That's quite rude. As I recall it, you were writhing under my touch and begging for me to allow you to cum."

"I have spent every day since then regretting that decision," PLAYMAKER says with rising anger.

"What a pity," says REVOLVER with mock disappointment, tilting his head sharply, his earrings glinting and a victorious smirk appearing on his lips. "I thought we had a lovely little romp under the sheets."

"Oh fuck you, REVOLVER!" shouts PLAYMAKER, logging out in a rage.

It's only after Yusaku is back in his own body that he realizes that, once again, he has completely failed to extract any information from REVOLVER.

"Perhaps I should have given him that handjob," Yusaku muses to himself, rising from his gaming chair and heading to his kitchen for a late night snack.

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"Hello again, dear customer," greets Kusanagi one afternoon. The food truck is parked by the ocean, just down the way from that mansion at the top of the cliff.

The young man who lives in that mansion is here once again doing what he always does: buying Kusanagi's gourmet hot dogs.

"Two char-grilled hot dogs with onions, mustard and light relish, please."

"Certainly, coming right up!" replies Kusanagi with a gentle smile. "Please wait a moment."

There is a distinct timbre in the man's voice that is somehow familiar, but Yusaku cannot even begin to place it.

"Have you ever seen the ocean here at night?" asks the handsome customer while he waits.

Yusaku is tempted to look up, but he doesn't want the man to distract him from his current scouring of another collection of cloned hard drives.

"The ocean?" says Kusanagi conversationally. "Do you mean the bioluminescence?"

"That's right..."

It doesn't matter. The man is talking to Kusanagi, not him. The man has _no reason_ to talk to him. The man's particular, _delicious_ , tastes in hot dogs are none of Yusaku's concern.

"I have," says Kusanagi from the grill. "It is the most beautiful sight in all of Den City… Stardust Road. I would dare say that it would look even more stunning from your view at the top of the cliff?"

"That's certainly true.... Ever since I was a child I have been mesmerized with the way the light dances under the waves. It's as if some ancient goddess collected the entirety of the Milky Way into a pitcher and methodically poured every single celestial body into this one place."

Still…. the man does have the most beautiful steel blue irises.... Not that Yusaku is _looking_. He's definitely _not_ looking.

"Here you are!" announces Kusanagi. "Two char-grilled hot dogs."

And he's _definitely not_ fantasizing about serving the man hot dogs…. He'd probably burn them anyway.

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Lately there's been an everlasting pool of anxiety that hangs in the pit of Yusaku's stomach. He can't shake the feeling that _something_ is coming.

But there's another reason why Yusaku's anxiety has been on high alert…

Recently the actions of the Knights of Hanoi have become erratic, hurried, careless. They seem to be overclocking their efforts in order to defeat as many duelists as possible. There are currently so many Knights in operation that PLAYMAKER can't possibly hope to defeat them all.

And something appears to have changed, _appears to be changing_ , with REVOLVER. The leader of the Knights of Hanoi has been suspiciously absent the several times when PLAYMAKER has come looking for him at The Tower of Heaven. Yusaku's frustration over this _little inconvenience_ is rapidly growing into an obsession.

PLAYMAKER stands in an alley in the shadow of a skyscraper in the center zone of LINK VRAINS.

"Go! _Decode Talker_! Take out the rest of his life points!"

The Knight he's been dueling for the last quarter of an hour is struck in the chest by the monster's massive blade and is sent flying backwards into a wall.

PLAYMAKER dashes up to the Knight and grabs him by the front of his robes, shaking the man furiously. "Tell me where REVOLVER is!"

"Why would I do that?" says the Knight with a defiant sneer, the data-exposing wound on his chest already healing.

And yet... suspecting that this process is unfolding _–_ it could be Yusaku's anxiety lying to him, after all _–_ is not enough to prepare him for the shock that pierces through his heart when the Knight tells him...

"You're wasting your time, PLAYMAKER. REVOLVER-sama was never interested in you. And why would he be? All you're good for is a tight hole."

"But he said…" PLAYMAKER trails off, throwing the Knight to the ground and pinning the man on his stomach with the sole of his heel, snarling, "Don't attempt to distract me, Hanoi scum. I asked you a question. _Where is REVOLVER_?!"

"Oh PLAYMAKER... there's no denying that you're a hot piece of ass. I mean, to be frank, I would love nothing more than to bury my dick in your curvaceous little bottom, most of the Knights would.. even the women would love to have a go at fucking you... but you must have realized the truth by now…"

"What truth?" PLAYMAKER shouts as he grinds his heel into the Knight's back. 

The Knight coughs violently, but it isn't enough to stop the feral grin that splits his face. "Did you _really_ think you were the first cute face to catch REVOLVER-sama's eye? There have been many others. REVOLVER-sama was toying with you. _That was all an act._ "

PLAYMAKER recoils. That screaming wave of anxiety is overwhelming Yusaku. That unwelcome burden is back in his chest. His mind is racing. He can't focus. There's no way _that's_ true.

** You thought there was something genuine about him? **

**All because he pulled his hand away when you asked about it?**

**Are you a complete idiot, Yusaku?**

When PLAYMAKER returns to his senses a moment later, the Knight is running off. Feeling defeated and terrified by what _these feelings_ could _mean_ , PLAYMAKER doesn't bother to chase after him.

110110111001101100011110010010000001101111011011100110010100100000011101000110100001

It soon becomes clear that the sudden spike in the rate of Den City's hospital admissions is in some way linked to the increased Hanoi sightings in LINK VRAINS. 

Yusaku doesn't even question if REVOLVER is involved in this. He _must_ be. Where else could he have possibly been for all that missing time? Why else are the Knights suddenly after PLAYMAKER?

Yusaku's luck must be finally returning, because this time when PLAYMAKER storms The Tower of Heaven, the white robe clad demon himself is actually there to receive PLAYMAKER's rage.

"REVOLVER!"

REVOLVER's brow muscles rise. "PLAYMAKER? Long time no s _–_ "

PLAYMAKER punches REVOLVER in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"You want me? Here I am! Stop targeting innocents!"

Clutching his shattered mask with genuine surprise, REVOLVER makes a small gesture with his hand. Before REVOLVER is half way to standing, a pair of Knights have descended on PLAYMAKER and have pinned him to the floor.

"Let me go!" shouts PLAYMAKER in outrage, as if he hasn't just assaulted their leader in full view of the entire lounge.

REVOLVER clicks his tongue with disapproval, smiling down at PLAYMAKER, disengaging his mask and tossing it aside, smug. "Feisty tonight, aren't you? Are you in need of an outlet for all that rage? I'm happy to oblige."

PLAYMAKER snarls, struggling against the now four Knights holding him down.

"Definitely in need of an outlet," concludes REVOLVER. "Take him downstairs."

The Knights drag PLAYMAKER to his feet; of the four that were holding him down a moment ago, two hold his arms and shoulders, one holds his head still. The final Knight, his predatory grin the only part of his face visible under the Hanoi mask, cups his hand under PLAYMAKER's chin and stabs a syringe into the side of PLAYMAKER's neck.

At first there appears to be no effect, but then the game visuals projected into Yusaku's mind begin to spin and his vision blurs…

The world goes dark.

100001011101000010000001111001011011110111010100100111011011000110110000100000011001

When Yusaku regains consciousness, he has a head-splitting migraine and sees only darkness.

 _ **Where am I?**_ Yusaku wonders, moving to raise his hand to his temples to massage them, only to discover that he can't move his arms… or his legs… and there's something in his mouth… and he's certain that something is forcing his eyes to remain closed. _**What the hell?**_

There's distant laughter that he instantly recognizes as REVOLVER's.

** You're still logged into LINK VRAINS. **

_**Yes, that much is obvious. Shit, I need to stop talking to myself.** _

Yusaku tries to bite down on whatever is in his mouth, PLAYMAKER making a muffled noise of outrage when Yusaku realizes that PLAYMAKER is unable to move his jaw.

Fighting against his growing panic, Yusaku attempts through his thoughts alone to access the LINK VRAINS core menu...

_**Master User Override: Terminate session** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > SESSION TERMINATION: [ERROR]**

_**Master User Override: Switch account** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > ACCOUNT SWITCH: [ERROR]**

_**Master User Override: Display location** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > LOCATION: [ERROR]**

_**Master User Override: Display end user data status** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > HEALTH DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS: [CORRUPTED]**

**_Fuck!_ **

He tries to open PLAYMAKER's eyes again, feeling immediate resistance on PLAYMAKER's eyelashes. 

** The enemy has captured you. This is the end. **

With sight and speech taken from him, Yusaku makes use of his other senses, listening intently to every sound he hears and paying close attention to the vibrations all around him. As every sound seems to echo, Yusaku supposes that the location they have moved him to must be vast. From below _–_ and perhaps a bit to the left of _–_ him he hears feminine and masculine laughter and jeering, irregular intervals of _crack_ ing, sporadic screaming and under it all a drone of whimpering and sobbing.

Abruptly someone roughly grabs his chin and tugs on what is keeping _whatever is in his mouth_ in place. The pressure of having PLAYMAKER's head squeezed leaves Yusaku feeling disoriented.

There's a mocking laugh near his ear from a source he doesn't recognize, followed by receding footsteps and more of that same laughter from a distance far away albeit muffled.

He's left alone for a long time, abandoned for what feels like hours to simply listen to the disturbing atmosphere.

** You've been outwitted. You're a prisoner. Hanoi has won. **

_**I haven't lost. REVOLVER wouldn't leave me here like this indefinitely. He said something about an "outlet".** _

** You're a fool if you think you should trust anything REVOLVER says. **

_**Shut up.** _

With that thought Yusaku's mind quiets. He's not going crazy. _He's not._

One, he's anxious and in an uncertain situation so his mind is overreacting and attempting to give his thoughts power over him.

Two, his speech has been cut off so he's talking to himself through his thoughts. There's nothing strange about that.

Three, the Knights injected _something_ into him. His heightened senses and frazzled nerves are likely linked to whatever hallucinogen the Knights _– **NO! I'm not doing**_ **this _. Where is REVOLVER?_**

** He's not coming back. He left you here. **

**_I want to get the hell out of here!_ **

PLAYMAKER attempts to fight back against the restraints, shaking violently in the chair. If only he could _–_

REVOLVER's laughter echoes from somewhere behind him. 

PLAYMAKER freezes, listening to hear if… yes, two pairs of approaching footsteps, one that sounds distinctly like the _clack_ of boots on hardwood. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting, PLAYMAKER," comes REVOLVER's teasing voice into his ear. "Did you miss me?"

_**Absolutely not.**_

"Remove the blindfold. I want him to watch," says REVOLVER, his words accompanied by a rustling of fabric on metal.

The first thing Yusaku sees is darkness, but just as the avatar's eyes begin to adjust, a blinding white light flickers on and temporarily blinds him again. Slowly opening PLAYMAKER's eyes once more and gradually letting the light in, Yusaku takes in a horrific sight…

PLAYMAKER is seated in the loge of a theater, with a straight-on view of the stage, and upon that stage is a raised circular platform directly under a spotlight. There, in the center of the platform, a Knight whips the front of a suspended naked girl not much older than Yusaku himself, her body covered in gashes where the avatar code has been exposed. Seated before the stage are countless rows of Knights, the source of all that laughter and jeering Yusaku has been hearing for what feels like hours.

PLAYMAKER tears his gaze away from the scene, finding REVOLVER seated directly to his left in what can only be described as a throne. REVOLVER's chin rests on his closed hand which he has propped up by his elbow on the arm of the throne. He looks very much the part of a bored and disinterested ruler.

"You see, Anon-san," begins REVOLVER casually, crossing one leg over the other. "Initially when we started turning people into Anothers we were looking for you: a skilled hacker in their teens to early-20's who had modified the LINK VRAINS core code in the last year. As it was, there ended up being far more people who fit that description than we had first thought."

Now that he has a visual to connect to the _crack_ ing, or rather the sound of leather striking flesh, and to the answering screams and whimpers of the girl on the stage, Yusaku wishes the Knights had cut off PLAYMAKER's hearing as well.

"Eventually," continues REVOLVER in a tone so bland for the situation it's almost comical, "We started repurposing the cute ones to keep organization morale high."

REVOLVER meets PLAYMAKER's disturbed gaze. "Don't hate me, Anon-san. The Anothers, the raids on LINK VRAINS, the daily punishments of people like _her_ … I did this all for _you_."

The girl has begun to beg for the end of her torture; the Knights mockingly laugh at her misery, some of them encouraging the Knight on stage to strike her harder. PLAYMAKER snarls with rising rage.

"I believe she's had enough," announces REVOLVER, his voice somehow suddenly amplified tenfold. All of the Knights turn around in their seats to face the loge. "Punisher, cut the poor girl down, would you?"

PLAYMAKER forces himself to look back at the stage, the girl's tear-filled gaze meeting his own, the girl's pain piercing through Yusaku's mind like a hurled spear.

_**She's suffering because of me.** _

REVOLVER shoots out his hand, pointing at a Knight in the audience, singling her out from the crowd of hundreds. "You there. Yes _you_. Kindly attend to the girl, would you?"

The Knight makes her way towards the stage. She bows to REVOLVER under the spotlight, which he dismisses with a wave of his hand, and, vanishing the ropes with the LINK VRAINS unequip gesture, catches the girl as she falls. She strokes her hair in a motherly embrace and then tosses the girl over her shoulder, carrying her off the stage and out of the theater.

"SPECTRE, bring in the next one," orders REVOLVER, turning his attention to the person that second pair of footsteps belongs to. The man in the white suit, who PLAYMAKER has seen periodically strolling around in the shadows in The Tower of Heaven, bends down to whisper in REVOLVER'S ear.

"Oh? Change of plans?" hums REVOLVER with interest, his voice echoing throughout the theater. "That _is_ a good idea. Bring in the _special_ prisoner!"

Through the entrance doors a Knight drags in a fully nude male avatar, his head obscured by a black sack. The Knight nudges him towards the stage and guides him up the steps to the circular platform. When they are both directly under the spotlight, the Knight pushes him down to a kneel.

But when the Knight yanks off the sack a moment later, Yusaku wants to scream, staring horrified through PLAYMAKER's wide eyes at the tangled mess of familiar dark indigo strands that fall haphazardly onto the avatar's shoulders.

PLAYMAKER shrieks into _that thing in his mouth_ , a ball gag he has realized, shaking in the chair, rattling it. _How dare they do this to..._

"Oh don't do that, PLAYMAKER," REVOLVER coos, stroking the side of PLAYMAKER's face with his thumb. "Sit back, relax and enjoy the show."

PLAYMAKER clenches his jaw around the gag, shaking off REVOLVER's hand and snarling helplessly as a couple of Knights grab the man by the elbows and drag him to his feet. Upon the stage appears a distortion of pixels, and after it has cleared a tall post has appeared upon the stage.

"Face it forwards," orders SPECTRE, his voice amplified almost as loudly as REVOLVER's. "So that we may all see its face when it distorts with _pain._ "

The Knights tie the man tightly to the post, binding his arms behind his back, securing his knees and ankles to the post. Lastly, they loop rope around his torso, winding it around his chest and shoulders.

_**How did they find** _ **him _?_**

PLAYMAKER shudders and cringes when the first strike rips a pained howl from the man's throat.

_**Did I make a fatal error somewhere along the way?** _

The man is whipped again and again, pulling scream after scream...

_**Did I let slip something damning about my life outside of the virtual world?** _

Sobbing, the man is sobbing now, howling like a wounded animal.

 _ **Has REVOLVER been tracking me in the real world? But we were so careful!**_

"Please I beg you!!" sobs the man, lifting his head enough to plead directly to the loge… directly through to Yusaku's mind. "Please make them stop hurting me!!"

_**I'm so sorry Kusanagi-san… I couldn't save you… I couldn't protect you… I was too weak!!**_

**YOU'RE LOSING.**

REVOLVER laughter, a hollow sound completely lacking in mirth, cuts through Yusaku's devastation. "This must be someone precious to you..."

Yusaku won't forgive their cruelty... he won't forgive REVOLVER. He wants nothing more than to hurt these monsters, to hunt them down in the real world one by one, to make their lives a living hell. 

_**I will obliterate all of you!** _

** They deserve to die. Take your revenge! Kill them! **

**__** **_I won't rest until every single one of you evil people are begging for the sweet release of death._ **

**The world would be better off without them.**

The torture continues for an unfathomable time longer, finally ending when the avatar's head sags forwards into unconsciousness, his body as still as a statue, his skin marred with countless gashes where bright red code bleeds out and drips down onto the platform in a continuously disappearing puddle.

"Did you enjoy the show, everyone?" calls SPECTRE to the excited crowd. "Oh? What's that? Was our show not to your liking? Are you _still not satisfied_?"

The crowd breaks out into a cacophony of laughter, heckling and cheering.

"What a tough crowd. Tell us then, what do you wish to see?" SPECTRE calls out to the crowd again, leaning slightly over the edge of the loge and cupping a hand behind one of his ears.

 _"Give us PLAYMAKER!!"_ shouts the crowd. 

"Oh? What's that? Unsatisfied with our usual stock? Who do you want? Say it louder."

_"PLAYMAKER! PLAYMAKER!! PLAYMAKER!!!"_

SPECTRE pivots on his heel and smiles wickedly at REVOLVER, the skin on his face appearing to melt. "They want PLAYMAKER."

"Do they now?" answers REVOLVER with a practiced sneer as he rises from his throne, stepping towards the edge of the loge and commanding the attention of his followers with the sort of air of superiority expected from a cult leader. "So you want PLAYMAKER? Tell me, what do you wish to do with PLAYMAKER?"

_"Torture him!"_

_"Fuck him!"_

_"Humiliate him!"_

_"Make him our slave!"_

"What passionate responses!" exclaims REVOLVER. "But... I'm afraid I must deny you all those pleasures. PLAYMAKER's fate is _mine alone_ to decide."

** LOSER. YOU'RE A LOSER. **

The Knights respond with derisive laughter, some leering up at PLAYMAKER, others making obscene gestures in his general direction, all of their masks suddenly melting and warping into visions of nightmares.

SPECTRE claps politely, gaze fixed on PLAYMAKER, his tight-lipped smile distorting into that of an apex predator, his skin melting off to reveal bright red beneath it, only now where avatar code should be is real blood, muscle and bone.

"REVOLVER-sama has staked his claim," announces SPECTRE, his voice distorting and growing manic. "As he should, of course. Only the highest quality prisoner for our supreme leader, isn't that right everyone?"

**YOU'VE LOST.**

PLAYMAKER trembles in horror, frantically struggling against the restraints, screaming behind the gag. The sound of the Knights clapping and cheering grows ever louder and distorts into the most terrifying roar Yusaku has ever heard in his life.

REVOLVER backtracks to PLAYMAKER, his face that of Charon here to take Yusaku down the River Styx, and rasps into PLAYMAKER's ear with the voice of Death, "What I have planned for you will be far more inspired than anything that these sadists could come up with."

** LOSING MEANS DEATH. **

PLAYMAKER continues to scream under the gag, his eyes blown wide in terror.

REVOLVER draws back, his visage warping into a formless shadow. "Untie him. I wish to give him a much needed lesson in _respect_."

Three Knights _—_ none of them with masks or faces _—_ materialize in the loge before PLAYMAKER, startling PLAYMAKER so much his heart pounds painfully in his chest. Two of the Knights holds down PLAYMAKER's arms and legs against the chair while the third releases the restraints on his wrists and ankles. Gripping PLAYMAKER by both arms, they force him to stand, and then shove him toward _the thing_ that used to be REVOLVER.

** YOU'RE GOING TO DIE. **

Overcome with fear, Yusaku can no longer fight back when _the thing_ pins PLAYMAKER's arms behind the avatar's back, nor when _the thing_ binds his wrists and leads him toward the loge's exit doors.

010111011001100101011100100010000001101100011011110111011001100101000101001001100011

PLAYMAKER has been screaming for what feels like a lifetime. Yusaku sees nothing but nightmares, and were this his real body, Yusaku would have long since destroyed his vocal cords from the strain of the screaming.

PLAYMAKER is trembling. His wrists have been bound together and linked to a chain suspended from rafters on the ceiling, and his ankles have been shackled to a spreader bar on the floor.

Before him floats a black shadow with glowing yellow eyes but no body. It has been here with him for so long he has forgotten who it used to be.

_**Take me you demon! Why do you prolong my death?! End this suffering!** _

The shadow glides back and forth before him, making a _tsk_ ing sound from its nonexistent throat. The air around it glows with millions of bits of miasma.

"Stop screaming, PLAYMAKER," commands _the thing_ with an unearthly snarl. "What is wrong with.... oh.. _that_ must be it... **Master User Override: Display secondary user delusion factor.** "

**> USER: [UNKNOWN]**

**> SECONDARY USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > DELUSION FACTOR: [10]**

" **Master User Override: Lower secondary user delusion factor to 0.** "

**> USER: [UNKNOWN]**

**> SECONDARY USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > DELUSION FACTOR: [0]**

The effect is immediate. PLAYMAKER stops screaming, and as if a switch has been flipped in his brain, all the terror that has been driving Yusaku slowly towards insanity dissipates. He can think clearly again.

_**I was afraid. Why was I so afraid? What did they do to me?** _

The thing has become REVOLVER again. He paces back and forth before PLAYMAKER, expression blank.

"Forgive me, Anon-san. Nightmarish delusions are a side effect of the mind virus. I had nearly forgotten that DR. GENOME added that effect to the code recipe. These days he's become _a bit_ of a sadist."

_**Mind virus? That caused the horrific things I was seeing?** _

"Not to say that I wasn't aware that you'd be experiencing delusions… they usually take the form of seeing something no one else can."

_**What is he talking about?** _

"You should know, it was SPECTRE's idea to create that faceless avatar whose torture we had you witness… when coupled with the mind virus, I've been told that it will often assume the face of the person the infected individual holds most dear. _I_ couldn't see who you were seeing on that stage, but judging by your reaction I've come to the conclusion that they must be _very_ important to you. Was it a family member? Close friend, perhaps?"

_**He couldn't see.. then that wasn't actually Kusanagi-san?!** _

"But enough of that... Shall we proceed with tonight's main event?"

_**Haven't you done enough already? What more do you want from me?** _

Still trembling and watching REVOLVER with growing dread, Yusaku can only hope that whatever has changed in REVOLVER is temporary and that he will return to the arrogant and mischievous, but ultimately harmless, person with whom PLAYMAKER spent so many nights.

A small paddle materializes in REVOLVER's hand, and, tapping it against his gloved palm, he leers at PLAYMAKER. " **Master User Override: Unequip secondary user armor.** "

**> USER: [UNKNOWN]**

**> SECONDARY USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > ARMOR REMOVAL: [SUCCESS]**

PLAYMAKER squirms as his bodysuit demateralizes in a wave of sea green pixels. Yusaku, thinking he has caught on to REVOLVER's plan, accesses the core menu as well.

_**Master User Override: Disable hyper-sensitivity** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT: [ERROR]**

"By the way, if you're thinking that you can hack the mind virus, that's impossible," says REVOLVER, smirking. "Your master user privileges have been revoked."

Yusaku had suspected this. PLAYMAKER glares and snarls behind the ball gag.

REVOLVER tilts his head, tapping his index finger against his cheek. " **Master User Override: Display secondary user sensitivity rank.** "

**> USER: [UNKNOWN]**

**> SECONDARY USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > HYPER-SENSITIVITY LEVEL: [5]**

_**No. Not this!** _

**"Master User Override: Raise secondary user sensitivity rank to maximum."**

**> USER: [UNKNOWN]**

**> SECONDARY USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > HYPER-SENSITIVITY LEVEL: [10]**

** He's still winning. And you are powerless to stop him. **

**__** **_NO!_ **

"How else can we modify your experience?" purrs REVOLVER, but Yusaku isn't listening.

**_Master User Override: Disable secondary user access to primary user core menu._ **

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > CORE MENU LOCKOUT: [ERROR]**

REVOLVER trails the paddle over PLAYMAKER's bare ass, tapping it experimentally on one cheek.

**_Master User Override: Disable secondary user access to equippables_ **

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > SECONDARY USER ITEM MENU OVERRIDE: [FAILED]**

And then the paddle comes down _hard_ and PLAYMAKER yelps.

_**Master User Override: Disable primary user access to all sensitivity.** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > SENSITIVITY FACTOR OVERRIDE: [ERROR]**

When it comes down again PLAYMAKER lets out a pained hiss. 

_**Master User Override: Reset access terminal code.** _

**> USER: [PLAYMAKER]**

**> > GAME REBOOT: [ERROR]**

PLAYMAKER closes his eyes when the paddle comes down again, failing to hold back his answering yelp in his throat. _**If I can't stop him, then I can at least show him that I'm not affected.**_

"Ho~" intones REVOLVER. "The color is changing. What a beautiful shade of red."

PLAYMAKER tries again to hold back any sound he can. The paddle smacks the same spot over and over again, leaving that part of PLAYMAKER's ass with a continuous sting that prickles at the edges of Yusaku's mind.

"Do you know why you're being punished?" says REVOLVER between smacks. "You've been a very bad boy."

REVOLVER punctuates his words with a series of particularly hard smacks. PLAYMAKER cries out, tears pooling at the corners of his still closed eyes.

"I was kind to you," says REVOLVER, his words taking on a bruised tone. "I gave you my undivided attention."

_Whack._

"And what did you do to repay that kindness?"

 _Whack_.

"You ignored my invitations."

_Whack. Whack._

"You blocked my access code."

_Whack. Whack. Whack._

"You came back here, into my domain, and humiliated me in front of the Knights."

_WHACK._

PLAYMAKER yelps so loudly it sounds like a shriek. His eyes shoot open and those pooled tears fly off his eyelashes.

"You made me look weak."

_WHACK._

"Mmphhhh!!" yelps PLAYMAKER behind the ball gag.

"I don't appreciate being made to look a fool."

_WHACK. WHACK. WHACK._

"Mmmmmphhhhhh!!!"

"This is the only fitting punishment for a misbehaving boy like you."

_WHACKKKKKKKK._

"MMMMMMMMPPPHHHHHHH!" yelps PLAYMAKER, tears streaming down his face.

Some kind of haunted expression crosses over REVOLVER's face and he abruptly drops the paddle; it clatters on the hardwood floor. "You're so beautiful, PLAYMAKER.. especially when you're so overcome with emotion like this."

REVOLVER steps out of PLAYMAKER's line of sight. A moment later there's a _clink_ and that weight on PLAYMAKER's head subsides as the ball gag loses its grip.

REVOLVER steps back into view, his gloved fingers reaching into PLAYMAKER's mouth and pulling out the ball gag. He tosses it away and shoves his fingers into PLAYMAKER's mouth.

"If you bite me I'll start paddling you again, understand?"

Blinking away the tears, PLAYMAKER glares back with renewed defiance. The only reason why he doesn't bite down on REVOLVER's hand is because his jaw is tired and sore from having the ball gag holding it open for so long.

"Lick my fingers," commands REVOLVER.

PLAYMAKER reluctantly does as instructed, swirling his tongue around REVOLVER's fingers, holding back a shudder when the motion sends a shock of pain through his aching jaw.

"That's better," says REVOLVER, withdrawing his fingers from PLAYMAKER's mouth and ghosting his saliva-slicked gloved fingers down the side of PLAYMAKER's face.

REVOLVER disappears from PLAYMAKER's line of sight once more, then PLAYMAKER feels those fingers stroking the cleft of his ass. He shivers.

"Do you still wish to ignore me?" REVOLVER whispers into PLAYMAKER's ear.

"Fuck… off…" hisses PLAYMAKER through clenched teeth, his jaw aching too much to speak properly.

"Oh? Still up to fight, are you?"

"I do not want… to have sex… with you..."

"Anon-san you misunderstand... I have absolutely no intention of fucking you."

_**What?** _

"Because," says REVOLVER with an audible sneer. "You're going to fuck yourself."

Before Yusaku can begin to question that statement, REVOLVER has already snapped his fingers and materialized an object into the space directly below PLAYMAKER.

PLAYMAKER's eyes blow wide again, and Yusaku's brain stutters as he processes what _the object_ is.

"I am not… No way am I going to… No," stumbles PLAYMAKER over his words. "You've lost your mind."

REVOLVER laughs with disturbing amusement. "Are you saying that you'd prefer _me_ over _this_?"

"I am not going to… fuck myself with your…. with your _machine_!" PLAYMAKER shouts in protest before wincing from the soreness in his jaw.

"We'll see about that…" mumbles REVOLVER ominously from somewhere behind him.

It begins as a low hum as the motor warms up, and then rises to a high buzz. And then _something_ prods just at the edge of PLAYMAKER's entrance. It doesn't move, but PLAYMAKER feels the vibrations from the machine spreading from that spot to his back and thighs.

"I took the liberty of using your own saliva to slick it up for you…"

"Bastard…" snarls PLAYMAKER, shivering from the shallow but pleasurable vibrations. "You'll pay for this... as soon as I am free..."

REVOLVER chuckles darkly. "I must admit, Anon-san, I had hoped you would maintain _this_ attitude. You have not disappointed me in that regard."

REVOLVER's hand closes over PLAYMAKER's own and his fingers pry PLAYMAKER's fist open. Metal touches PLAYMAKER's palm, and REVOLVER closes PLAYMAKER's fingers around the object he has placed in his hand.

"That remote controls the thrusting of the machine. All you have to do is press the button to start the thrusts. Pressing it again will increase the speed."

PLAYMAKER glares angrily at the wall before him since he can't see REVOLVER to glare at _him_. "I already told you… I am not going to fuck myself on your machine."

Yusaku expects REVOLVER to mumble out another presumptuous remark, but instead he hears REVOLVER's footfalls and then the sound of rustling and what _could be_ falling rain _if that was logical for the situation_.

_**What is that?** _

Yusaku has his answer a moment later when what feels like a tail makes contact with PLAYMAKER's ass _directly above the vibrating machine_.

"Haa…" sighs PLAYMAKER involuntarily, immediately horrified that the sensation, whatever it was, felt _good_.

It makes contact with his left cheek and then with his right and then with his left again, cycling back and forth on both sides. It's difficult to hear over the sound of the machine's buzz, but there's a low rushing sound that accompanies each _snap_ on his buttocks.

REVOLVER is uncharacteristically silent, but Yusaku can hear him breathing under the _bzzt_ s, _whoosh_ es and _snap_ s.

The remote is heavy in his hands, but PLAYMAKER doesn't dare drop it, lest he accidentally activate the thrusts. "Haa… aa.."

After a while of experiencing this _oddly pleasurable_ mix of sensations, PLAYMAKER begins to relax a bit, only to recoil when he realizes that he has inadvertently lowered his hips and pressed his taint against the machine. The vibrations shoot straight up his spine and fan out through his thighs, stomach and groin.

"Shit…" hisses PLAYMAKER, wetting his lips with his tongue, and sighing from the dual sensation of the _snap_ s on his buttocks and the vibrations on his taint. "Haaaa.." If only he could receive the vibrations from a different angle.. like against his entrance....

 _SNAP,_ comes a suddenly very painful strike to his buttocks, and PLAYMAKER flinches forwards with pain, yelping. He can hear REVOLVER laughing under his breath, raspy and taunting, but the alternating lighter _snap_ s resume just as quickly as they were interrupted.

However, when PLAYMAKER backs up again, he feels his entrance stretched and realizes that he has unintentionally impaled himself on the machine. It sends vibrations straight to his prostate and limp cock, and he can't hold back a moan. "Aaah!"

REVOLVER's laughter echoes in PLAYMAKER's ears. The bastard is _enjoying_ this.

But now that the vibrations are inside of him, PLAYMAKER feels his cock awakening, and he can't help but to allow himself to sink further down, rocking on the machine to allow its phallus to spread him open and slide further inside.

 _SNAP_. PLAYMAKER flinches from the pain, shifting forwards on the phallus. "Aaaah!"

"Go on then," whispers REVOLVER, amusement blatant in his tone. "Go for it."

Yusaku knows that he's played right into REVOLVER's hands _again_ , but, thanks to the hyper-sensitivity turned up to its highest setting, this feels _really good_.

_**Fuck it.** _

PLAYMAKER presses the button with his thumb, moaning when the machine begins to thrust. "Ahaaah… aaaah.."

"Isn't that a bit slow for you, Anon-san? Wouldn't you like to go _faster_?"

_SNAP._

"Ahh! Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn…"

 _SNAP_.

"Hanoi… scum.." mumbles PLAYMAKER, raising the speed of the machine and nearly screaming from the heightened pleasurable sensations it stimulates to his inner walls.

"Ho~ Cursing me even when you're making yourself feel so good? Do you wish to be hit harder?"

"Baastaaard hnnnnnnghhaaa… aaa..."

"Don't tell me, Anon-san… are you… getting off from being hit?"

 _SNAP!_ to PLAYMAKER's buttocks.

"Aaaaah!! Fuck… you… nnnnaaaa..."

PLAYMAKER raises the speed again, devolving into an overstimulated moaning mess.

 _SNAP! SNAP!_ to PLAYMAKER's inner thighs.

"You _are_ , aren't you?"

 _SNAP!_ to the small of PLAYMAKER's back.

"Aah! Fuck you fuck you ffffff _–_ " _SNAP!_ _SNAAAP!_ to the sides of PLAYMAKER's hips, and those sting so much that PLAYMAKER screams. "AAAAAH!!"

PLAYMAKER frantically presses the button several times, rapidly increasing the machine's power to its maximum setting. The phallus drives into him at inhuman speed, drawing out moan after moan after moan.

 _SNAP!_ _SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!_

All this pain and all this pleasure is giving him so much stimulation all at once that Yusaku feels weightless. He never wants to come down. "Aaaannnghhhhhaaaaaa.."

PLAYMAKER is so distracted with _the high_ that it isn't until he feels wetness dripping down his cock and balls that he realizes he has already climaxed.

REVOLVER's triumphant laughter echoes in PLAYMAKER's ears.

The machine turns off, withdrawing from PLAYMAKER on its final thrust.

REVOLVER's laughter dies away after a while, and there's a sharp pain in PLAYMAKER's neck where REVOLVER breaches his skin with another syringe.

REVOLVER's voice sounds so separated by space and time that Yusaku swears he's dreaming. "I've administered the antidote into your core code. Your master user privileges will be ready to use again in a short while."

PLAYMAKER spends several moments panting, struggling to catch his breath, mind slowly coming down from the high.

With two snaps of his fingers the machine and the chains and spreader bar holding PLAYMAKER in place vanish, but before PLAYMAKER can fall to the floor REVOLVER catches him in his arms. REVOLVER, pressing his lips to PLAYMAKER's own, sets him down on the floor and ends the kiss almost as soon as it began, speaking in a jarringly cold tone, "Go home, Anon-san. This is no longer the place for you."

REVOLVER stands, staring down at PLAYMAKER who pants on the floor. With his face devoid of emotion REVOLVER dematerializes into a scattering of aquamarine pixels.

010010110101101100101001000000100100100100111011011010010000001110100011010000110010

With Knights swarming LINK VRAINS and turning duelists into Anothers with disturbing efficiency, GO ONIZUKA suddenly appears in LINK VRAINS and challenges REVOLVER's commander DR. GENOME.

Yusaku _hates_ this. The Knights are PLAYMAKER's problem. This is _his_ fight. The Knights are dangerous, and have already claimed dozens of victims. He doesn't want anymore innocents getting hurt.

Somehow though, GO ONIZUKA triumphs in his duel. Yusaku is moderately impressed, and, for the first time in his life, wonders if acquiring allies from outside of the Incident would really be such a bad idea.

"Don't get me wrong, PLAYMAKER. I'm fighting for myself," BLUE ANGEL announces sometime later when PLAYMAKER is congratulating GO ONIZUKA on his win. Mere moments after arriving, she heads in the opposite direction with a determined gait, flipping her hair as she passes by them.

"What's her problem?" whispers GO ONIZUKA. "I thought she'd be into the whole 'team' thing. So much for that helpful idol persona..."

PLAYMAKER shrugs. This is a battlefield. Win or die. They don't have to fight alongside him if they don't wish to put their lives in danger. This began as _his_ fight, and he has no qualms about continuing to go it alone, especially when the enemy _plays so dirty_ ; PLAYMAKER shivers from the memory.

GO ONIZUKA abruptly lets out a burst of boisterous laughter. "Don't worry BLUE ANGEL. We won't lose!"

"You'd better not!" BLUE ANGEL shouts back; there's a hint of a smile on her face. "Well then, see you both at the end of the gauntlet!"

"Right!" agrees GO ONIZUKA.

PLAYMAKER nods, his brows furrowing with renewed determination. "Let's go!"

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While flipping through footage of the Anothers incidents, Yusaku manages to find footage of a familiar looking woman...

"There… in the shadows…" says Yusaku, sharpening the image for Kusanagi to see. "That's Zaizen Aoi's doctor from when she was infected by the mind virus."

"Are you sure?" asks Kusanagi with skepticism. They run facial recognition software on the woman in the footage; it matches with nearly 100% certainty.

"Doesn't she look like the Knight BLUE ANGEL is dueling right now?" chimes in Ai.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," says Yusaku. "It cannot be a coincidence."

"I wonder how many normal-seeming people in this city are part of _that_ organization," adds Kusanagi, looking up the woman's profile. "I found her home address. Should we check it out?"

Yusaku nods.

Kusanagi returns the nod with one of his own and hurries to the front of the van. He turns over the engine and speeds toward the location on the computer terminal that pings the woman's home address.

"I'm going on ahead," announces Yusaku, exiting the van after Kusanagi has parked near the destination of high-rise condominiums.

"I'll follow you once it's safe," says Kusanagi, shutting the van door.

"Hey.." chimes in Ai with worry. "Are you sure we should be going in there? This could be the Knights of Hanoi headquarters."

** Stay on your guard, Yusaku. If that Knight lives here, then REVOLVER's real world user could be nearby as well. **

"Then all the more reason to investigate," replies Yusaku dismissively. Although he's trespassed on and broke into and entered private premises before, he still has to fight down his anxiety.

_**I hope** _ **that person _isn't here_.**

Although, he supposes with a quiet laugh completely lacking in mirth, because he's only ever interacted with REVOLVER in LINK VRAINS, if _that person_ were here he'd never know it was them.

"What's so funny?" whines Ai.

"Be quiet," snaps Yusaku, entering the building.

The lobby is silent and devoid of people. He's alerted to the glowing red light of a security robot; despite its questioning and Ai's concern about them being caught, he remains silent.

"Okay, Yusaku," comes Kusanagi's static-warped voice through the earpiece a long moment later. "I've taken over the control system."

Yusaku makes his way towards the elevator at the end of the lobby.

"Be careful, Yusaku," says Kusanagi into his ear, only adding to his anxiety.

Calling the elevator and boarding it, Yusaku pulls on a pair of forensic gloves and turns up the volume on his wireless earpiece.

"Continue on straight ahead," instructs Kusanagi after Yusaku has stepped off the elevator. "But if you run into any problems... _run_."

For some unknown reason the floor is unexpectedly deserted. He continues down the hallway, passing every apartment one by one until he reaches the one labeled _Taki_. Sparing a moment to be mildly disturbed at how easily Ai hacks the digital lock on her door, Yusaku checks the hallway to make sure no one is watching before he steps inside.

It's dark. She, or _that person_ , could be anywhere. Remaining on guard, Yusaku checks every room of the apartment before finding a room lit only by the harsh blue glow of computer monitors.

"I found her," says Yusaku into the earpiece. "She's still logged into LINK VRAINS. There's no one else here."

While he waits for Kusanagi, Yusaku searches around the room for any clues that might lead to the answers that he and Kusanagi are seeking. He goes through drawers and cabinets. They are empty. He moves on to the bookshelf behind the woman, checking the bottom shelves thoroughly. He's about to move on the top shelves when he hears the door creak open.

"Yusaku look! It's REVOLVER!" exclaims Kusanagi in a harsh whisper.

Yusaku immediately forgets about the bookshelf, spinning on his heel and looking at the monitors. The woman is in some sort of circuit room. And there before her is REVOLVER, reaching out his gloved hand towards her face. Abruptly the monitors all go dark.

"He purged her…" whispers Kusanagi.

"She must have known this would happen if she released the virus removal program," Yusaku says, checking the woman's pulse. She's still alive but only barely; a coma.

"We should call for an ambulance," murmurs Kusanagi, turning to leave.

"Kusanagi-san, we broke into her home. Calling the authorities is dangerous. Do you want to be caught?"

Kusanagi is calm but sounds surprised, unsettled even. "Yusaku... do you want this woman to die?"

"Of course not.." whispers Yusaku, feeling uneasy for some unknown reason. _They shouldn't be here._ "Sorry, you're right. Let's get out of here."

As they hurry out of the apartment, Yusaku can't fight the paranoid feeling that they're being watched.

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It seems that before VAIRA was purged, she really did have a change of heart. The mind virus removal program she dispersed throughout the network, which Yusaku and Kusanagi thought had only affected the immediate area around where BLUE ANGEL defeated her, was in fact potent enough to wake all the Anothers. More importantly, perhaps because they did not wish to be purged themselves, the other Knights immediately ceased all attempts to create new Anothers.

With VAIRA, DR. GENOME and FAUST defeated, Yusaku and Kusanagi focus their efforts on finding REVOLVER who hasn't been seen in days.

"He must be somewhere," Yusaku muses softly to himself, tapping his foot along to the rebellious indie rock playing through his noise-cancelling earbuds.

Today Cafe Nagi has returned to the ocean shore line. Yusaku has been suspecting for weeks that Kusanagi sets up shop here so often for the sole purpose of seeing the man with the beautiful eyes who lives at the top of the cliff. 

Yusaku looks up from his tablet. As expected, that man has made his way down the road; he greets Kusanagi with a gentle wave. Kusanagi returns the greeting with a pleased smile.

Yusaku presses the switch on his earbuds that stops the active filtering of background noise and mutes his music; they have never talked but Yusaku has come to enjoy hearing the dulcet tones of the man's voice.

" _–_ ank you."

"No problem. You're one of my best customers," says Kusanagi, handing the man a takeout bag.

"I'm afraid this will be my final time here," says the handsome man.

"Final time? Are you moving?"

"Something like that," replies the man dismissively.

"Oh," says Kusanagi, sounding disappointed, sad even. "Well uh… Thank you for your patronage over these last few months." He bows with gratitude.

The man nods as he walks away. "Thank you for the food."

There's a part of Yusaku that stands still in this moment. They may have never talked or even met each other's gaze, but seeing the man here at Stardust Road had become one of the highlights of Yusaku's week.

"I'll be sad to see you go," Yusaku whispers to no one, before shaking his head at how stupid that sounds. He unmutes his music and returns to work.

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Yusaku feels lost and without purpose.

Even with all his victories against the Knights, Yusaku still feels like he's failing in his mission, and this fear of failure, of losing, keeps him up at night.

He's had enough. He needs closure. He needs to feel useful again. He needs to feel like he matters.

He has spent too many sleepless nights already unable to deny what he _now_ knows to betrue.

There's _no_ fighting this truth. This world shattering revelation that is slowly devouring whatever sanity he has left.

He _knows_ where he _must_ go.

PLAYMAKER warps into The Tower of Heaven. What he expects is the same distasteful, gaudy, smoke-filled den swarming with sexually-charged patrons and predatory Knights, but what he finds instead is a practically deserted open space. There are no patrons or Knights idling around, and even the bar, where REVOLVER sits alone, is missing its bartender. It's eerie to say the least.

"Why are you here, PLAYMAKER?" begins REVOLVER, uncharacteristically gloomy, his back to the room and to PLAYMAKER, his repaired mask discarded on the floor several paces away, his chin resting on crossed arms that are loosely folded on the polished mahogany bar counter. "I told you to go home."

"I did," says PLAYMAKER, making his way over. "But I had to come back."

"You had to? Why? There's no place for you here."

"Perhaps there never was," agrees PLAYMAKER, taking a seat at the bar next to REVOLVER. "Still, you should know REVOLVER, I did enjoy our time here together. Initially, at least."

There's an empty shot glass dangling between REVOLVER's gloved fingers. "You did, huh? That's strange. You feel that way even after I infected you with a mind virus and forced you to do _that_."

"Yeah.. I do," says PLAYMAKER, staring at the glinting earrings, tracing the harsh point of the avatar's nose, and making another attempt at the puzzle of _what changed_. "I can't explain it either."

"My commanders…" REVOLVER says, sounding shockingly melancholy. He launches the shot glass at the wall of the bar where it shatters into silver pixels. "I lost them because of you. I lost them because I've been with you. You're been a regretted distraction. I don't want you here."

PLAYMAKER shakes his head with mild disbelief. "I've been _your_ distraction? Perhaps you should re-examine our roles. Ever since that night in the church, you've done nothing but use me and lead me on. I'm no closer to the truth than I was when we started all this."

"Don't be melodramatic, Anon-san. We've been mutual players in this game. And we've both lost people we care about, haven't we? For me, only SPECTRE remains. In your quest for vengeance would you take him from me too?"

PLAYMAKER doesn't spare a moment in answering. "Yes, if he stands in my way, then I will knock him down like the rest of your commanders."

"Please leave."

"No."

" _Leave_."

"Can't you just be honest for once, REVOLVER? What do you truly desire?"

"Nothing that you can give me."

"Then what _can_ I give you?"

"A distraction…"

"Is that what you want? I thought you were regretting me as your _distraction_."

"Heh, don't be naïve. There is and has always been a clear distinction between a distraction in the mind and a distraction from reality. You were the former."

"And what kind am I, here, in this moment?"

REVOLVER is suddenly kissing PLAYMAKER, pushing him down against the bar counter, pressing their hips together, running his hands down PLAYMAKER's sides.

"Re… Revol…"

"Don't speak. Just be the kind of distraction I _need_."

PLAYMAKER throws an arm around REVOLVER's neck and kisses him with fervor, pressing his tongue up against REVOLVER's tongue, grinding his crotch into REVOLVER's crotch, guiding REVOLVER's hands to knead his ass.

REVOLVER hoists PLAYMAKER up onto the bar counter and trails his hot tongue along the underside of PLAYMAKER's neck. PLAYMAKER groans softly, reaching back to find the zipper on his bodysuit. He swiftly yanks it down, rolling the bodysuit south over his shoulders and arms to pool at his gut where he slides it off his fingers.

"Help me.." says PLAYMAKER without context, expecting that REVOLVER will understand. REVOLVER grasps PLAYMAKER's hips and raises him up off the counter just enough for PLAYMAKER to slide the bodysuit down his buttocks and thighs. REVOLVER sets him back down, and from there PLAYMAKER kicks off the remaining portion until he's stark naked on the counter.

In their past encounters REVOLVER would have said something snide by this point, there would have been taunting, cutting remarks, hungry observations about PLAYMAKER's body… but REVOLVER is silent, instead running his tongue down the absolute center of PLAYMAKER's torso to dip into his navel.

PLAYMAKER watches him, gaze unfocused, thoughts a million miles away from this place…

Indeed, Yusaku can find no reason to deny what he knows to be true...

In this virtual space, in this virtual body, he grew to feel _something_ for the real person behind REVOLVER's avatar.

At some point what was supposed to be a casual fling, an unfeeling, not real, no consequences affair became _real_ for him.

This, whatever this is between them, is real. This is as real as anything else in his stalled half life. This matters to him. _REVOLVER matters to him._

But he doubts that REVOLVER's real world user feels the same way. The cruelty and selfishness he has shown lately lends nothing to the idea that REVOLVER sees him as anything more than a plaything.

" _–_ 're quiet," says REVOLVER, his voice hurling Yusaku back to the present with such disruption that PLAYMAKER feels lightheaded.

"Sorry, what did you say?" says PLAYMAKER, dumbstruck. While Yusaku was lost in thoughts of what might have been, REVOLVER had divested himself of his robes.

It's that same base avatar body, free of scars and blemishes, an unsettling reminder that this is all an _illusion_. Under that body are nothing but module joints and strands of code.

In this moment, Yusaku is all but numb. To feel something, _anything_ , would be a blessing. And so, gripping the bar counter with both hands, PLAYMAKER leans his head into REVOLVER's shoulder and welcomes REVOLVER's penetration of his avatar's sham of a body.

Yusaku doesn't believe he'll ever be able to stop searching for that person who encouraged him not to give up all those years ago, but now he believes that he has the capacity to allow another person in… he has room in his fragile heart for that real person controlling REVOLVER.

Perhaps in another life they could have been together.

"Revolv.. aaaannnnn.."

What might that life have been like?

"A.. anon-san…"

Who would he have been? 

"Haaaaa..."

How would they have met?

"...you're so tight..."

Would they have been happy together?

"...nnnn…."

Truly happy together?

"You truly are the best, Anon-san…."

Whole human beings without a care in the world?

"...haa… haa…"

Would they have been the type of couple to take midnight walks down by Stardust Road?

_**It hurts.** _

_**Why does it have to hurt like this?** _

"You're crying," says REVOLVER between thrusts.

PLAYMAKER, gripping the bar counter with one hand, raises his other hand and touches his thumb to the corner of his eyes, feeling wetness there.

_Why is he suddenly so sad?_

"It's nothing," says PLAYMAKER, his breath ragged. "It doesn't matter."

"What is it? Tell me," REVOLVER murmurs into PLAYMAKER's cheek, his breath warming the side of PLAYMAKER's face.

_Why does it feel like he'll never be happy again?_

"It's just…. have you ever thought about how your life might have turned out had a cataclysmic event never happened in the past?"

** Think of three things. **

REVOLVER thrusts deep, pulling a low groan from PLAYMAKER's lips, his mouth close to PLAYMAKER's ear as he whispers, "All the time."

"Truly?"

_One, a 16 year old boy who foolishly became entangled with his enemy..._

"Yes, but, as you said, it doesn't matter…. fuck, I'm coming..."

_Two, a yearning deep in his heart that will have no chance of ever being returned..._

The heat that spills into PLAYMAKER isn't enough to stave off his tears; he won't find release this way anyway.

"Thank you," REVOLVER says softly, pulling away, "...for the distraction."

_Three, a real person behind that mockery of a body, somewhere out there in the world, who doesn't know who he is… who doesn't have room in_ their _heart for him… who will_ never _love him._

With deep sorrow pooling in his gut and unable to meet REVOLVER's gaze, PLAYMAKER logs out without another word.

010011110110111001101100011110010010000001100111011010010111001001101100001000000110

That _something_ that Yusaku has been sensing? It's real. And it's here in the heart of LINK VRAINS. How long has it been here? This swirling crimson orb of death…

And, to his devastation, Yusaku realizes that he was right about REVOLVER. He _has_ changed. Maybe forever.

Or perhaps this is how REVOLVER has always been? Perhaps Yusaku has deluded himself into thinking that REVOLVER has good within him, when in actuality this person has always been a monster.

Yusaku suddenly feels sick to his stomach.

"You…. you deleted her," PLAYMAKER states, horrified, the after-image of GHOST GIRL's pained dematerialization imprinted in his mind. "How could you do something so…."

"Cruel? Malicious? Shocking?" REVOLVER supplies, suddenly appearing _very smug._ "She lost, so I sacrificed her to the Tower that will save this world."

PLAYMAKER is visibly trembling. "She was good and _innocent_.. but you snuffed her out like she wasn't a real _living_ person..."

"Oh don't act so surprised, Anon-san. You didn't trust me initially. Are you not pleased to see that your original judgment of my character was correct?"

"What does that have to do with _–_ "

"She was a selfish, meddlesome parasite. I do not discriminate amongst such creatures. Such as that loathsome louse in your duel disk."

"Hey! How dare you call me a _–_ " Ai screeches before PLAYMAKER slams his hand down on the duel disk, forcing Ai back inside of it.

"Heh. It seems we both wish to remove it from our presence," REVOLVER comments with a light chuckle. "If you feel that way about the IGNIS, then it isn't too late to join my cause, Anon-san. We could do great things together."

"I will _never_ join you," PLAYMAKER spits in disgust. This isn't the REVOLVER he thought he knew.

"So be it. That was my final offer," REVOLVER replies, nonchalant, bored even. "I've grown tired of our little tango. Haven't you?"

"Stop toying with me, REVOLVER!"

Ai, muffled by PLAYMAKER's hand, shouts. "Hey! What's he talking about, PLAYMAKER-sama?"

"Oh but we're only getting started. I've set up a glorious game for you. In the unlikely event that you win this game, I promise to _finally_ answer all of your questions."

"What game?!" screams PLAYMAKER, sliding the fingers of both hands through the gaps in the lattice wall, gripping it tightly, pressing his face up against the matrix, frantic. 

"Won't you meet me at the top?" says REVOLVER almost sensually, reaching his gloved fingers through the lattice and cupping PLAYMAKER's cheek. Purely out of habit PLAYMAKER begins to lean in to the touch, only for REVOLVER to abruptly pull it away when Ai's beast form lunges from the duel disk towards his hand. "I'll be waiting."

"REVOLVER!" PLAYMAKER screams as REVOLVER retreats and soars away on his D-Board. "REVOLVER! **REVOLVER!** **REVOLLLLLLVERRRRRRRRRR!** "

PLAYMAKER dissolves into frenetic screeching, clawing at the lattice, fighting an invisible enemy. The world trembles and collapses all around him but he remains rooted in place, overcome by a tidal wave of rage, anguish, betrayal and _loss_. Ai's delirious shrieking of "Hey! PLAYMAKER-sama! Don't let GHOST GIRL's sacrifice be in vain! You promised to take that data out of here! Hey! We need to go! I don't want to die here! Hey! We need to go! We need to go!" sounds far away, like it's coming from another dimension.

The entire world feels so distant now. Images flash through Yusaku's mind, memories of all the times he and REVOLVER rolled and rocked in pleasure together, memories of REVOLVER's fleeting smiles, memories of REVOLVER's light laughter, memories of REVOLVER's sudden fear, memories of REVOLVER's shocking cruelty, memories of REVOLVER's jarring coldness…

He's brought back to that first night when REVOLVER stole him away. He's brought back to that first time when REVOLVER's handsome smirk made his heart beat faster. He's brought back to that time when he realized that _maybe_ he wished to know REVOLVER too. He's brought back to that soul-crushing moment when REVOLVER first withdrew from his touch. He's brought back to that catalyst of a moment when he realized he had fallen in love with REVOLVER.

He has seen so many sides to REVOLVER.. the friendly one who energetically talked about Duel Monsters with him, the playful one who teased him in bed, the guarded one who pulled his hand away, the somber one who mourned the loss of his closest allies… were _any_ of those personas real? Or has this all been an illusion, a well calculated ploy, one big **disgusting** joke?

_**It hurts.** **It hurts so much.**_

But then there's madness coursing through his mind like wild white rapids….

** GET OUT OF HERE. DO YOU WANT TO DIE? MOVE YOUR FEET, YUSAKU. **

He's violently returned to the present, and, upon remembering that the virtual ceiling above his head could crash down on him at any moment, registers that he's in mortal danger. He frantically logs out of LINK VRAINS, coming down into his own body once more in the chamber in Kusanagi's van, stumbling out of it in a frenzied scramble, all but running toward Kusanagi, and slams his hand down onto the computer terminal in a panic.

"Kusanagi-san! LINK VRAINS… it's…"

"I know, Yusaku, I…. What the hell is going on?!"

A massive beam of light shoots towards the sky, and those crimson tendrils PLAYMAKER saw in the moments before he logged out erupt from the underground, rapidly coiling upwards where they converge around the light into a single structure.

"What _is_ that?!" exclaims Kusanagi, expanding the game's live feed.

They watch horrified as the structure, _the Tower_ as REVOLVER called it, absorbs buildings, roads, objects and fleeing avatars.

"Here, Kusanagi-san," says Yusaku, passing over his duel disk. "It's the data that GHOST GIRL collected before she was deleted."

While he and Kusanagi analyze the data, from the corner of his eye Yusaku watches the structure continue to build and swallow everything around it. Six rings, one ring per hour… the lives of all these avatars' real world users hanging in the balance.

The devastation will not only affect LINK VRAINS... If REVOLVER's _game_ succeeds, societal necessities such as power plants and the electrical grid, social institutions such as hospitals and media outlets, and the city's infrastructure will all be taken offline indefinitely. The high density energy will not only erase Ai, but will also terminate the lives of people whose hearts keep beating because of network-connected life-support systems...

_**Is this what REVOLVER truly desires? To have the deaths of countless people on his conscience?** _

** You don't know what REVOLVER truly desires... **

"He's crazy!" Kusanagi says with horrified disbelief. "He's willing to go _this far_ just to delete the IGNIS?!"

**_How long has he been planning this? I should have seen this coming. He was changing before my eyes. If only I had_ ** _– **Damn it!**_

**...because you never knew him. **

For the first time in 10 years, Yusaku can find no reason to disagree with the voice.

REVOLVER is not Yusaku's friend.

** You've been unfocused. **

REVOLVER is not Yusaku's lover.

** You've been a fool. **

REVOLVER is a stranger.

** You've been weak. **

REVOLVER is the enemyhemust _eliminate._

** But no longer. **

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**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for sticking with me over these last six months. Sorry it took so long to update this series; I didn't have much free time to write. If you feel so inclined to leave a comment, I would love to read your thoughts on this installment!
> 
> I have begun writing the fourth installment which will adapt from where this one left off until probably the end of the arc. However I cannot say when that will be finished.
> 
> Thank you for your continued support of Hacking His Heart! ♡


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